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Byron Bay, Whales Waving at Us, and Beaumont Road Holds Morning Tea for Robyn and Andy! Can you imagine life without friends?  I can't or won't!  Don't get me wrong, family is wonderful, and I love mine dearly, but you do not get to choose your family.  You are assigned your family.  Friends, however, are chosen - by you and by them!  There is a lovely degree of freedom in that choice that is fascinating to me, and I believe that friends are a gift - to be cherished and protected! We have spent the last 10 days with our friends, Robyn and Andy Smith from Seguin, Texas and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute!  Now - you need to know that our space here in Australia is small, and we have been in rather close quarters with each other, but that has not gotten in our way of a great time together.  Some creative timing of the use of the one bathroom proved not as problematic as it seemed like it might be.  Even though they were here a short time, we pa...

Reverend Andy and Robyn Smith Arrive Safely 21 June 2016! Even though I think that coming to Australia, seeing koalas, kangaroos, the Opera House, and whales were all on Robyn and Andy's "bucket list," I choose to believe that they came here just to see us!  Robyn and Andy are friends from our college days at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas in the mid-late 1970's.  They are the type of friends for which "you can go for a few years without seeing each other, and then pick right up where you left off!"  They love us unconditionally, and we feel the same about them.  They grew up in Austin, Texas and were high school sweethearts.  Mitch and Andy were fraternity brothers together in the Pi Kappa Alpha brotherhood Alpha Omicron pledge class of 1976.  Robyn attended Baylor University for one year and then transferred to the University of Texas where she graduated in 1979.  Andy was the Best Man in our wedding in Lubbock, Texas in August of 1978,...

Sydney Tall Ships, My Heart Breaks for Orlando, and Paper-Mache Hot Air Balloons Last Sunday evening Mitch and I took a "2 Hour Dinner Cruise" on a Sydney Tall Ship around the Sydney Harbor to see the "Vivid" lights from the water.  It was so enjoyable!  After getting a bit lost finding the wharf, we made it just in time and were not disappointed! Here is a bit of information on the Sydney Tall Ships: Sydney Tall Ships Here are some photos of the evening cruise: My Heart is Breaking for Orlando As so many, I am heartbroken over yet another senseless bloodshed in Orlando.  When I hear news of this nature and being so far away, it just makes me so sad.  My prayers have been with the families and friends of those taken so abruptly, and also for our country as we watch the politicizing, the blaming, the pointing of the fingers, etc. I have a hard time understanding why this is such a divisive issue.  I wish we could become united for something, for a change!  I...